becca wrote:...
Yeah, I guess my idea was kind of old fashioned. But thats just where I am at right now. (Had a tough breakup recently and hope to just regroup at the burn.) Guys can be such dickheads really. I think that I am just hoping for some solitude this year to think and reflect, if you can get it with 30,000 people around. Maybe that's my fantasy, right?

That's just where I was before last year's burn. I thought to myself, "All I need is a beautiful woman to think I'm wonderful to help me get past this break up," as I drove to the playa.

Monday night,while walking around in my utilikilt, I heard a woman's voice behind me say, "I think men in kilts are so sexy," and I turned around to meet a speculator set of green eyes. Kate and I spent the rest of the week together and she was, indeed, just what I needed to help recover. One night, I stared crying while we were walking. It felt so damn good. "I have things to cry about," I told her, when she asked. I make it a rule not to complain about past lovers with current ones.

Becca and I probably have a lot in common inside...I think it might be fun to see if fate brings us together as friends. You'll smile for sure!

Bye the way, people in general can be "such dickheads", not just guys. A lot of out of touch and insecure people tend to continue the cycle of deciept and deception. One has to learn to love and respect themselves before they can give that to another.
I believe we must learn who we are and what we are capable of giving to someone...rather than what we can get from someone else. Give me a women that I respect and adore and I will fight to make her world better each and every day that I awake....

my fantsasy is unachievable barring divorce or a startling change of opinion. My wife can't stand the playa. We are devoted and monogomous. So, no booty.

So, what's second best? Getting a playa crush. Some handholding and perhaps a little early morning snuggle time.

really though, nothing fills my heart like wathcing the sun come up with my best friends after an extroardinary night. Bursting with joyful comaraderie during that last beer and cigarette. Indescribable colors in the sky.

I really don't have any sexual expectations going into BM, i'm going just for the experience ( and hopfully to make some true friends). But if i had a fantasy, it would be to share in a very passionate kiss during the Burn. I think that would be very sweet .

Everyone has the opportunity for greatness, not fame, but greatness, for greatness only requires service--Martin Luther King Jr

I am guessing but would wonder if the repressive social climate brought on in part by our current administration, lends to greater sexual frustration and that this will be a good year for "secret sex".

PS- I have felt that "I would love to fuck your brain" attraction!

"I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray..." - Prince

My wife and I are Christian Burners and we have fantastic (and yes "non-procreative *gasp*) sex constantly like a pair of eel monkeys. And it's good. God made our bodies with sexual enjoyment in mind. What's that clitoris about?! C'mon.

For such a totally open-minded community, there are sure a lot of stereotypical attitudes and prejudices held here. I thought that people were accepted as they are at Burning Man - Not judged for what they believe.

Fat SAM wrote:My wife and I are Christian Burners and we have fantastic (and yes "non-procreative *gasp*) sex constantly like a pair of eel monkeys. And it's good. God made our bodies with sexual enjoyment in mind. What's that clitoris about?! C'mon.

For such a totally open-minded community, there are sure a lot of stereotypical attitudes and prejudices held here. I thought that people were accepted as they are at Burning Man - Not judged for what they believe.

Go a little easy on us here. The truth is that for at least the past 24 years certain christians of rather spiteful, narrow, vitrolic views have been the ones to publically define what christianity is. And all the decent, thoughtfull, non-busy-body ones have let them. They only (mis)represent you because you allow them to. It's hard to keep any perspective of reality over that kind of time with that kind of media bombardment. I'd bet that some people have decided that open-mindedness is best after abuse by fanatic christians and like many abuse survivors arent' particularly ration when meeting representatives of the offending group.

I do have sympathy for the fact that you're being painted unfairly with a broad brush, but I also think there's a historical perspective that shouldn't be overlooked.

Fat SAM wrote:
For such a totally open-minded community, there are sure a lot of stereotypical attitudes and prejudices held here. I thought that people were accepted as they are at Burning Man - Not judged for what they believe.

It's hard for me to know where to start... i myself have a knee jerk reaction to christianity because of what it's been doing in the world. on the other hand, i grew up surrounded by wonderful, caring, loving christians - many of whom were even pretty open minded. Of course, since i left that community i've always felt like a lot of them wouldn't accept me the way i am now.

that doesn't mean i dislike christians. i dislike any organised religion. i dislike anything that has historically encouraged people not to think for themselves, and imposed its values. i dislike things that are in the business of restricting people's freedoms. i dislike it when people tell me i am going to hell and then ruin other people's lives and get to go to heaven, just because they believe in the right god.

so anyway, apologies for the reactions... most people, you'll find, will get over it pretty quick. it isn't fair, it isn't pretty, but it can be taken care of. of course, that may require some major changes on the christian communities' part...

hey, lil papa gwanni pawlu!

on the upside, growing up around people with PhDs in biblical studies means you can have great fun when people are trying to convert you. it's a fun game.

Judging the "BM community" based on what's on this board is dangerous and counterproductive and just plain wrong. Withould ... er ... judgment until you've been back to Reno for a week. But my guess is you'll be making plans for next year on the drive home to Reno.

Judging the "BM community" based on what's on this board is dangerous and counterproductive and just plain wrong. Withould ... er ... judgment until you've been back to Reno for a week. But my guess is you'll be making plans for next year on the drive home to Reno.

too true. there are times when being on these boards makes me loathe BM and everyone in it. then i run away to my local and become quite happy.

Eh. I'm sure that I'll be running out to BM next year. And I'm not judging the whole community - I was generalizing for the sake of bringing the issue to light though. It was defenitely inflammatory on purpose.

Up until just 3 years ago, I was a total aetheist - or so I thought. I think I was just mad at God and it was easier for me to try to deny His existence than to come to grips with myself. I spent almost a decade researching other religions and belief systems and Christianity is what I came back to - though it is Christianity flavored with something other than what a Christian who grew up that way has. If anyone's curious, I'll be more than happy to talk by email or whatever, but there isn't space and this isn't the place.

Being a Christian surely doesn't mean that you let other people think for you, either. I'm perfectly capable of rational thought. I'm a very rational, intelligent person (I'm a philosophy major and an English minor)Kierkegaard or CS Lewis would have agreed that it is a HIGHLY irrational decision to believe in Jesus. They were both Christians, though. We all do things that make no sense. As far as I'm concerned, though, this is a no lose situation for me.

And as for the people who represent Christianity, I'll point to George Dubya and America. I didn't pick that guy to represent me, either. Unfortunately, the opinions of millions, perhaps billions, of people the world over will be shaped by the idiotic decisions that he makes on my behalf. We can't always control the actions of our embassadors. What we can do is try to be good embassadors ourselves, however. That is what I endeavor to do.

So if we see each other on the playa and I'm wearing a shiny little cross, don't dog me. Just accept me as I am and I'll do the same for you. Peace

Sorry for some of the syntax in that post, btw...It was hastily put together.

As for my Burning Man sexual fantasy (just to get things back on track) is me and my beautiful wife, sitting together after a long night of walking and dancing and having fun and watching the sun rise, and making out until we..ahem..and then falling asleep in each other's arms.

(And then waking up about five feet from each other in our oven hot tent) :wink:

Fat SAM wrote:Sorry for some of the syntax in that post, btw...It was hastily put together.

As for my Burning Man sexual fantasy (just to get things back on track) is me and my beautiful wife, sitting together after a long night of walking and dancing and having fun and watching the sun rise, and making out until we..ahem..and then falling asleep in each other's arms.

(And then waking up about five feet from each other in our oven hot tent)

"this is a no lose situation for me"

no noose?... don't take it so hard. sorry, misread.

dude, your not fat, although your avatar looks kinda skewed, i'd say you have some robert smith happening there. that's a good thing...oops, he's fat. (wink).

No - you're right, I'm not particularly fat. The picture was taken unbeknownst to me while I was petting my dog. I'm a professional rave dj, so I have to have a stage name because Dj Steve sounds kind of weak. SAM are my initials and SAM didn't seem like enough so I added a random adjective. Hence, Fat SAM.

Making out? Yeeeeaaaahhhh...Making out is where it's at, dude. Looooooooong kisses are nice. Especially when followed by sweet, sweet love.

Fat SAM wrote:Eh. I'm sure that I'll be running out to BM next year. And I'm not judging the whole community - I was generalizing for the sake of bringing the issue to light though. It was defenitely inflammatory on purpose.

Up until just 3 years ago, I was a total aetheist - or so I thought. I think I was just mad at God and it was easier for me to try to deny His existence than to come to grips with myself. I spent almost a decade researching other religions and belief systems and Christianity is what I came back to - though it is Christianity flavored with something other than what a Christian who grew up that way has. If anyone's curious, I'll be more than happy to talk by email or whatever, but there isn't space and this isn't the place.

Being a Christian surely doesn't mean that you let other people think for you, either. I'm perfectly capable of rational thought. I'm a very rational, intelligent person (I'm a philosophy major and an English minor)Kierkegaard or CS Lewis would have agreed that it is a HIGHLY irrational decision to believe in Jesus. They were both Christians, though. We all do things that make no sense. As far as I'm concerned, though, this is a no lose situation for me.

And as for the people who represent Christianity, I'll point to George Dubya and America. I didn't pick that guy to represent me, either. Unfortunately, the opinions of millions, perhaps billions, of people the world over will be shaped by the idiotic decisions that he makes on my behalf. We can't always control the actions of our embassadors. What we can do is try to be good embassadors ourselves, however. That is what I endeavor to do.

So if we see each other on the playa and I'm wearing a shiny little cross, don't dog me. Just accept me as I am and I'll do the same for you. Peace

So here’s the thing. I’m not trying to say that YOU are doing this (my first reaction was to assume that, but I realised that’s probably way off) but far too often people are trying to convert me.

The other weekend my boyfriend and I were walking in the public market area and stopped off at victor steinbruch park so that he could eat some nasty fish thing he was having for lunch. There were signs saying these folks had a quiz to determine whether or not you’d go to heaven. I was amused, so I decided to go chat with them a bit. It started with one guy, and what we realised was a futile but entertaining conversation. The quiz questions didn’t leave any room for anything but Christianity, of course. Dan, I think his name was, was at a real loss to explain the challenges that I put to Christian doctrine.

Faith is a matter of – well – faith. We have no way as humans to determine who or what god(s) is/are. Yet they were insisting that they knew what was right for me because god had touched their lives somehow, and apparently identified himself (?) as the Christian god. They had no answers for how I could have just as real of experiences with Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, and various pagan whatnot. They had no way to explain how the Bible can be god’s perfect word as opposed to a cultural, historical book and at the same time they don’t have to follow the exhortations in Leviticus about not wearing a cloth made of two fibres.

Once they realised they weren’t making headway that way they brought the young folks over to tell me their conversion (apparently weren’t interested in my journey the opposite way). They were clearly trying to find ways to connect without even bothering to see where I really came from. Not all Christians do this, but so often… And in this situation, I was off the eplaya so maybe I needed a fight.

This whole conversation happened in a park dominated by native artwork, by the remnants of a spirituality almost crushed by Christianity, one that, unlike most monotheistic religions, hurt no one and actually honoured the earth. Hmmmm..

At least last time someone tried to convert me to Islam it was because they were afraid I wouldn’t go to heaven when the army killed me. It’s just cause they love me. And most people never tried. They realised that if I were to come to it, it would be through rigorous intellectual study and moral searching.

Then there’s my family. I come back from Palestine. Two days later, my great aunt or something says that she doesn’t understand us people who are trying to drive god’s chosen people into the sea. First of all, I call bullshit on that. Second, it’s nice to know that god is racist.

I know these are just some instances. But this replay over and over. And it’s not a reason to dislike Christians, but it’s part of why I’ve had it up to here with the religion itself.

That said, welcome, as one person to another… I hope to meet you. And just as I will not shun you ‘cause of the cross around your neck, I hope that you won’t shun me because of the bullet around mine.